Welcome to Johannes Rau International Centre for Education and Exchange (IBB)!

IBB Minsk is a German-Belarusian project, created, elaborated and filled with verve by Germans and Belarusians in a result of joint partnership. The founder of the Centre are: Association for Education and Exchange Dortmund, Sputnik Minsk, Minsk City Executive Committee and Belarusbank. Johannes Rau Center was established following the example of German Academies of Education. The creation was supported by the German Federal State North Rhine-Westphalia, the Evangelical Church of Westphalia, and by a lot of sponsors and individuals. IBB Minsk began its work in 1994 and is happy to welcome guests!

“Building a house” – Belarusian constructivist artist Kazimir Malevich’s painting has been accompanying IBB from the very start of its work.  Firstly, because it inspired the architect Richard Pierschke to develop an unique project, where he creatively applied Malievich’s constructivism, transferring it from a sketch on paper to a real house fit for living. Secondly, because Johannes Rau Center, in its educational programs and daily activities ties in with the ideas of Malevich's paintings from 1915: an expression of creative, new thinking, which could evolve in an atmosphere of changes in modern art style.

Like Malevich's art that knows no borders between countries and is highly appreciated not only in Western Europe, but worldwide as well as, IBB Minsk wants in its activity to overcome borders, build bridges of understanding between the cultures of East and West, and between generations.

Johannes Rau Center is a complex, which includes a conference centre, a hotel and the restaurant «Westfalia». In addition, IBB leases office premises, in particular to international organizations and firms. Along with the services provided to the third parties, the profit of which allows funding of the centre’s technical maintenance, IBB, in cooperation with International Association for Education and Exchange Dortmund (IBB Dortmund) arranges its own numerous educational activities using their own recourses and third parties. The main emphasis in educational activities of IBB is laid on such fields as topics «Understanding and Reconciliation», «Belarus and Europe», «Media Academy», «Church and Society», and «People and Environment». In addition, IBB Minsk and IBB Dortmund are organizing educational trips for groups from Germany and other countries.

Together with International Association for Education and Exchange Dortmund, IBB Minsk arranges annual partnership conferences for public associations and civic initiatives in Germany, Belarus and Ukraine, and also coordinates the implementation of the Support Program for Belarus provided by the Federal Government of Germany.

Johannes Rau International Centre for Education and Exchange today combines:

  - a conference and educational centre for representatives of East and West and, thus, one of the houses in the “common house of Europe”,

 - a meeting place for businessmen, civic society organizations and creative people and everyone interested in cooperation,

- a laboratory of ideas in the fields of history, economics, politics, education, environment.